The Breakthrough (Deluxe)

pitchfork

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit a blockbuster R&B comeback record from 2005, an unofficial marker of a more self-actualized Mary J. Blige.

rollingstone

When Mary J. Blige reunited with Diddy for 2003's Love and Life, disappointing material and diminished sales ensued. Blige's new disc, The Breakthrough, doesn't deliver everything its title suggests, but it'll do until a real breakthrough comes along: An empathetic supporting cast revitalizes the hip-hop soul queen on this seventeen-track set of particularly classy material. […]